Prospective kiwiberry growers in the Northeast now have a roadmap to help them grow this emerging specialty fruit crop. Researchers with the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) have produced an online guide that provides in-depth, regionally relevant information.
Comprised of a statewide market assessment, a detailed production manual, and enterprise analysis, Growing Kiwiberries in New England: A Guide for Regional Producers reflects information that the experiment station has gathered since 2013, when the experiment station initiated its kiwiberry research and breeding program at its Woodman Horticultural Research Farm.
With their general adaptation to the region, their attractive appearance, intense and complex flavor profiles, and high levels of bioactive compounds, kiwiberries have been recognized for their potential as a high-value crop in the Northeast. They are a tender, smooth-skinned relative of the fuzzy supermarket kiwi and are about the size of a grape with a tropical taste.
Kiwiberries have an extensive 140-year history of cultivation in New England, first as an ornamental landscape vine and subsequently as a new fruit crop on private estates and in backyard gardens. In recent decades, a handful of producers have experimented with field-scale kiwiberry production, demonstrating the commercial viability of the crop in the region and developing interest among researchers and consumers.
NIFA supports this project through the Hatch Multistate Research Fund.
Read the full article at UNH News.
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